Judge rules against Trump’s plea in Pennsylvania election results [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• US Federal Judge Matthew Brann of Williamsport, Pennsylvania ruled on Saturday that state officials can proceed with certifying the election results.
• Brann’s ruling meant that President Donald Trump has lost his suit in Pennsylvania to disregard millions of votes because of the technical problems encountered in some counties.
• Trump cannot still get reelected even if he secured the state’s electoral votes.

A federal judge ruled on Saturday that state officials can certify the election results in Pennsylvania, confirming that Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden won against President Donald Trump by over 80,000 votes.

This puts the president’s legal challenge in vain, as his hopes of changing the election outcome were turned down by US District Judge Matthew Brann in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Brann said that Trump’s counsel showed “strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations… unsupported by evidence.”

“In the United States of America, this cannot justify the disenfranchisement of a single voter, let alone all the voters of its sixth most populated state. Our people, laws, and institutions demand more,” the judge argued as stated in his ruling.

The president’s campaign had contested that when Pennsylvania counties made a different approach with regard to informing voters about technical errors in their submitted mail-in ballots, the constitution’s guarantee of equal protection law was breached.

According to Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar and the seven counties that have been won by Biden, Trump had also brought up the same case and was defeated.

Boockvar’s camp told Brann that Trump’s legal challenge was exaggerating in nature, especially the part to nullify millions of votes for alleged isolated cases.

“There is no justification on any level for the radical disenfranchisement they seek,” Boockvar’s legal team said in a written brief on Thursday.

In response to Brann’s ruling, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, tweeted saying: “Another one bites the dust.”

Boockvar will do the certification process after the counties have finished certifying their results. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) will inform the victorious candidate on December 14.

Even if Trump would be able to win the 20 electoral votes from Pennsylvania, it is still not enough to secure his second term in office.

Source: AOL.com